Fire, failed boilers and a runaway train cost BHP $600M in the December 2018 half, and it’s also facing a potential $300M bill for claimed underpayments of past royalties on its WA iron ore production.

Highlands Pacific directors say a direct cash takeover of the company by Cobalt 27 offers the most to shareholders after the failure of a proposed streaming deal over its minority share of production from the Ramu nickel and cobalt project in PNG.

The cumulative impact of slow ramp-up of production and disrupted rail freight operations have forced Australian coal producer Bounty Mining to lower production forecasts for its Cook Colliery project.